Introduction (w/ pics to follow)

My name is John Kim and I am a professional poker player (or professional gambler according to the irs). I am gonna chronicle my attempt to reach a net total of $1 mil or more in profits from poker this year. Do I think it's a realistic goal? For me, yes.

Quick background check on myself (originally posted on 2+2 and it's long) http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/evolution-poker-player-right-way-368361/

Snapshot of my HEM since mid Feb 2008....

A clearer picture of snapshot.. http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4513/1sthem.jpg

Couple of quick notes... I play anywhere from 12-16 tables depending on mood and avg around $250-500 hr (before rakeback) dependent on stakes. For some that follow PTR, you'll notice that their database is off vs my actual database (and this prob applies to most), although they have been better lately at tracking hhs.

Also, the reason why I feel like I have a shot at a 7 figure year is for a few different reasons. One is that given my history, my hrly rate projected over 40hrs/wk is anywhere from $500k-$750k for a year, and this is before rakeback. I can project another $100k in rakeback, which is reasonable considering the # hands I play/hr. Still, the #s seem to show that I may fall short of my goal, but there are a few other considersations.

2nd is that my play has been a lot improved even since 1 yr ago, and for the year have been avg over 4ptbb/100. I devoted some time to improving my game last few months and it's finally paying off (I'm a big advocate of always striving to get better). Here is a link of a PTR article showing biggest winners at specific stakes for Jan of this year..

http://www.pokertableratings.com/blog/2010/02/januarys-mid-high-stakes-top-winners/

3rd is that although I am grinding mostly 2-4 6max right now, I intend on moving up stakes throughout the year, and hopefully reaching 25-50 by the end of the year. With it, my wins should increase, maybe not proportionally cuz the games get tougher, but definitely increasing my hrly rate. The reason I am grinding 2-4 right now is mostly for personal reasons that I am not going to discuss specifically...but it is not because of fear of higher stakes (I have tons of history at 5-10 and have played bigger, as big as 50-100 live), but more to do w/ never being in a position to bust my online rolls no matter how bad I run, and having to cash out a ton every month cuz of my big overhead for living expenses (I will post pics of house and cars soon enough). I take a very conservative approach to playing poker when it comes to bankroll management, and have my entire career as a poker player, mainly due to the fact that I have a family to support and would never want to risk having little or no money to grind w/ due to an extended bad run. I do have assets outside my online rolls, but I intend on never having to dip into those.

Also, I do play mtts and have had success throughout my career. You can find out my mtt history in the link I provided above about my background. My most recent big tournament win came a few months ago, taking down the FTP double deuce for $32000 (it had over 9000 entrants!). I've had a couple of 6 fig mtt cashes, and several 5 fig cashes over my career, so there is always the possibility of another big score. I'm planning on playing a bigger slate of mtts this year than I have years past, online and live, so hopefully I can make a nice score or 2.

Now the obstacles I face on achieving 7 figs...and there are some. There is the short term luck factor, and even for a year, one can run pretty bad below ev. For mtts, it is more magnified since there is more short term luck involved. Also, I am not single and don't have all the time in the world, w/ a family and all, unlike most online players these days. I do make an effort to be a good husband and father 1st, before being a poker player (obv all guys w/ families should follow suit). Therefore, I will have to try to allocate my time very wisely this year, and hopefully manage to get in at least 40hrs/wk playing poker (which most online players know is a very tall task even w/o any time commitments).

Also, even though I did well in Jan, I managed to only get in about 100hrs worth of play. For Feb, it's been worse, w/ about 24 hrs so far thru the 1st 9 days. Chalk it up to family commitments and going skiing w/ family or friends about 10 days this year. I will really have to crank it up to reach my hrly goal.

Finally, there is the possibility that I will fall severely short of my monetary goal and look like a total idiot, and prob get flamed on 2+2 (not that I care about it really, cuz I don't). I am setting these goals to push myself to maximize my poker potentials and earning power. I was especially disappointed in myself last year as I only avg'ed a paltry 13.5 hrs/wk grinding poker and having these goals will at least push me to grind 30, hopefully 40+ hrs/wk. Obv, the money earned will be nice, and ultimately poker really comes down to money won :)